Colorado law raising minimum gun purchasing age to 21 goes into effect

People under the age of 21 are unable to purchase a firearm in Colorado after the state's new law went into effect Monday even as the legislation faces legal challenges.

The law, SB23-169, "Increasing Minimum Age To Purchase Firearms," was signed earlier this year by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis along with three other laws restricting firearm purchases. 

The age restriction law includes exceptions for active U.S. military members, peace officers and those certified by the Peace Officer Standards and Training board.

The state gun laws were met with lawsuits. Most recently, the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, a pro-gun group, filed a temporary restraining order on Thursday in an attempt to stop the age restrictions from going into effect.

Polis also signed bills into law earlier this year repealing a law limiting liability actions against defense manufacturers, creating a three-day waiting period to buy firearms and expanding the list of those who can petition for extreme risk protection orders, which can stop a person from possessing, controlling or purchasing firearms for nearly a year.

Colorado has been the location of several notable mass shootings, including the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, the 2012 Aurora movie theater shooting, the 2021 Boulder supermarket shooting and the 2021 Colorado Springs LGBTQ+ nightclub shooting. All of these shootings, with the exception of the Columbine massacre, were perpetrated by people at least 21 years old.

"Coloradoans deserve to be safe in our communities, in our schools, in our grocery stores, in our nightclubs," Polis said when he signed the bill into law in April, according to CBS News.

"Young people aged 12-24 make up one-fifth of the population, but commit just under half of all gun murders," state Sen. Jessie Danielson, a Democrat who sponsored the bill, said. "Raising the age to purchase a firearm will keep more deadly weapons away from our youth, reduce youth suicide rates, and make our communities safer."

Rocky Mountain Gun Owners Executive Director Taylor Rhodes said: "It was always about disarming citizens and the more people they can disarm, the better. ... We’re in an uphill fight. I hope and pray there is some type of common ground that is common sense."

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